Origins of the Hitchhiker
by Jeremy Dick
Summary: The infamous "backpack guy" from The Walking Dead's third season episode, 'Clear,' was an interesting character, but who was he and where did he come from? Origins of the Hitchhiker answers those very questions and fully explores his back story, from the outbreak of the apocalypse to his inevitable encounter with Rick's car.
1. Chapter 1

Hidden deep within the tall trees and dirt roads of rural Georgia, and beyond a hand-painted sign reading, "WELCOME TO WILLY'SWHITE SANDS," a man-made beach in which local families used to frequent now sits deserted. From the pure white sand around the still water of the large swimming pond to the forest surrounding the entire area, not a sound can be heard, save for the scattered chirps of passing birds and the occasional thumping of a woodpecker. A place where the passing winds once carried the sounds of laughing children and splashing water, Willy's White Sands will never again see another paying customer.

A single lifeguard tower sits on the sands of the makeshift beach. The structure contains a small balcony facing the water, with lawnchairs that used to seat lifeguards keeping watch. Behind these chairs is a locked room, an office of sorts where the manager had kept all of the location's paperwork and finances. The only way up seems to be a wooden staircase on the side, which has evidently been deliberately destroyed. On the rear wall, a small window faces the dirt path leading into the resort, and a pair of eyeballs can be seen peeping through the blinds, the only sign of life visible on the entire beach.

"You're gonna worry yourself to death, Minnie."

Inside the manager's office, a young man, Ray Thomas, tries to reassure his panicking friend. Although the two of them do share a growing concern about the absence of the third member of their trio, Ray, always the optimist, doesn't show any signs of his similar feelings of dread. His words, however, are of little comfort for his companion.

Ignoring Ray's comment completely, Min-yung Jackson continues to stare at the empty road at the entrance to the resort. Min-yung knows Ray means well, but she can't help but feel helpless without her husband, Simon Jackson, by their side. Her petite, ninety-eight pound body offers little in the way of defense against outside threats, while Ray's own self-proclaimed "pacifist lifestyle" has also made him pretty useless in any sort of real conflict.

Ray decides to leave Min-yung be, realizing there's nothing more he can do or say, and takes a seat in a fold-up lawn chair. With his only present companion unwilling to talk, he can't help but let his mind wander. Ray tries to think of things like drawing, painting, playing basketball and a lot of other activities he used to enjoy. However, it's always only a matter of moments before he begins to see the images he's been trying so hard to block out, the atrocities he witnessed first hand when Hell on earth began.

Before the outbreak, Ray Thomas happily worked as a movie theater projectionist. Having a lifelong geeky obsession with film, it seemed to be a perfect job for him. The only problem was that it didn't pay all too well, which is why Ray still lived at home with his mother although he was in his mid-twenties. With his father long dead to lung cancer and his identical twin sister, Rachel, away at college in Atlanta, Ray's mother was more than happy to have his companionship.

At the time of the outbreak, Ray Thomas had nearly called off from work because of a wicked cold he had been battling, but went in anyway to try and be a model employee. On that tragic day, Ray wasn't sure exactly what moment the carnage had begun as he sat in the projectionist's booth in the theater. He had missed it completely because of all his distractions.

While the loud sounds of the action movie on the screen muffled the screams from inside the theater, Ray fumbled with a Dayquil bottle and disposable tissues. After spending some time taking a few swigs of medicine and giving a Kleenex a good blow, Ray looked at the screen and noticed that there seemed to be an exorbitant amount of screams that wasn't matching the scene playing. It was then he looked down from the window into the theater and felt himself paralyze with fear, unable to process the horror he saw.

It wasn't clear whether somebody in the theater had turned, or if the undead had swarmed into the cinema from the outside, but the situation was complete chaos. From the window, Ray could see what appeared to be people viciously attacking other people. Everybody was fighting and there was blood everywhere. Like rabid dogs, people were biting off large chunks of flesh from limbs, necks and faces. Small pockets of zombies fed on single corpses, completely ripping them apart. It was a bedlam.

Unprepared for such a sight, Ray threw up, and then rushed over to the door, flipping the deadbolt lock into place. He collapsed with his back against the wall, trying to catch his breath and make sense of what was happening. He found a small comfort behind a locked steel door, but the never-ending sounds of violence kept him trembling so hard he was almost seizing. His only hope at that point was to stay put until the police or SWAT teams came and brought order to the situation.

For two weeks or so, having lost track of the days, Ray holed up in that desolate projectionist's booth. There was no phone, internet or any way to contact the outside world. With a thread of luck, Ray was able to gain sustenance from vending machine stock that had been stored in the room, including various junk foods, soda and bottled water. He had been trapped there, waiting for some kind of rescue from the ensued chaos, totally unaware that the problem extended far beyond the theater he was in.

What nearly drove Ray Thomas insane was his inability to comprehend his predicament. He thought initially that the attackers in the building were either terrorists or drug-fueled psychopaths, but as time went on, he couldn't understand why emergency personnel never showed up. Furthermore, he was really confused as to what was happening to all of these people. Victims he could have sworn were dead were beginning to rise again, one by one, and all of them would moan and shuffle around aimlessly.

Early on, Ray had made the mistake of shouting down at them from the window, "Are you guys okay?" causing every walker in the theater below to start angrily snapping, snarling and moaning, trying to track down the source of the voice. A bearded zombie in a Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts, who was now missing an arm and most of his face and neck, peered up and made eye contact with Ray. The mangled corpse viciously growled at Ray, reaching up at him with his remaining hand, signaling to nearby ghouls where he was. Before he knew it, all forty to fifty walkers in the room were howling with their hands in the air, unsure of how to reach Ray but hungry for his flesh all the same.

Instinctively, Ray dropped down out of their sight, and quickly decided he would then stay the hell away from that window. It became more clear how dire things were. Still unsure of what was happening, Ray was able to surmise that for whatever reason, the dead were walking, and they seemed to really want to tear him apart.

As the days progressed, Ray really began to ponder just how critical the situation was. He had so many questions. Why hadn't help arrived? Was he in a quarantined area, or had the entire world become consumed by chaos? Was he the only one left? Was his mother okay? Was his sister safe in Atlanta? Should he just go ahead and commit suicide?

The food supplies were getting low, and the time to make a decision was fast approaching. It wouldn't be long before the last bottle of water would be empty, and with the decreasing likelihood of government assistance, Ray knew he needed to somehow escape. However, this task seemed like a completely impossible mission, being on an upper floor of a building filled with monsters.

It was then that Ray thought of something which gave him a glimmer of hope. There was a ladder leading to a roof access point located in the hallway outside of the door of the projectionist's booth. Ray had been far too petrified to ever unlock the door up to this point, with the constant, ghoulish moans of the undead echoing through the halls. Still, climbing to the roof seemed like the best choice for his next move, as he could then survey the surrounding areas, and the neighboring buildings were close enough to leap onto.

The walkers in the theater below had pretty much forgotten about him, and many had gone into a dormant state while others shuffled around. Ray hoped that all of the zombies in the building had also gotten a bit more relaxed, giving him the ability to sneak over to the ladder and hastily get away. The only problem was that Ray didn't know if there were any lurkers in the hallway outside of the door.

With the hallway outside located at the top of a set of stairs, and the only other nearby room being a broom closet, there was a smaller chance of running into a zombie. Ray hadn't heard anything from behind the door, but with the never-ending sounds of walkers emanating throughout the building, it was hard to tell. After shoving the few remaining packs of Twizzlers and a couple of bottles of water into his pockets, Ray turned the deadbolt lock as slowly and quietly as he could, took in a deep breath, and pulled open the door.

Immediately, there was a problem. Although he had spent a great deal of time pondering his plan and mentally preparing for the worst case scenario, Ray completely froze up when he saw a blood-drenched ghoul standing before him. What made this horrifying sight even more creepy was that Ray recognized who this monster used to be.

The heavyset, thick-bearded and bald-headed man who once served as the theater's manager was easily identifiable even with his face covered in blood. He had apparently been bitten on the neck and retreated up the stairs to the hallway where he bled out, died and turned. While Ray was processing what he was seeing, the zombie manager slowly turned his head, resting his neck when he looked directly at Ray.

With a snarl, the walker lunged at the terrified projectionist. Ray quickly took a hop backwards, a move that probably saved his life. The zombie crashed face first onto the floor, bumping a fold-out table and knocking over a stack of film canisters. As the former manager struggled to get back on his feet, Ray jumped out of the room as fast as he could and threw the door shut.

Unfortunately, the sudden loud clanging of the fallen film canisters had seemed to rouse up every ghoul in the building, with the sounds of vicious moans swiftly increasing in volume. Ray's worst fears began materializing when he saw the venturing walkers appearing at the other end of the hallway at the top of the staircase. There were at least ten of them that had come into view, with who knows how many more behind them. Ray knew he had to move quick.

A suspended ladder led to the roof exit. Ray jumped and grabbed the bottom rung. He hastily attempted to pull himself up, but the perspiration of his nervousness had loosened his grip and he wound up on the ground, flat on his back. Turning his head to see the hungry zombies only a matter of a few feet away, a boost of adrenaline surged through Ray's body and gave him the power to get back on his feet immediately.

Wasting not even a millisecond, Ray took another leap upwards, making sure to get a tighter grip on the ladder. He managed to hoist himself up, shimmying up the ladder just as the group of snarling walkers appeared below him. Feeling dead fingertips on his ankles nearly scared Ray to death, but he continued on until he reached the hatch at the top. He turned the circular valve counterclockwise, then pushed it up and open.

It didn't seem likely for Ray to have felt any more hopeless after being trapped in a zombie-filled movie theater, but that was because he hadn't seen the true horror outside of the building. The city now appeared to be a war zone, littered with crashed cars, burnt buildings, broken glass and dead bodies. Much more concerning than that was the insanely high amount of undead roamers shuffling and crawling through the streets, their collected stench so horrid that it made Ray's nostrils burn.

Collapsing to his knees as if he'd been hit by a cannonball, Ray wept into his hands. Within a matter of seconds, he had felt an incredible amount of emotional highs and lows, brushing with death upon his escape from the cinema only to wind up straight in the middle of Hell. His worst fear had been fully realized; it is, in fact, the end of the world.

Pondering his next move was not easy, so Ray took his time. If anything, at least he was out of that tiny, stuffy room where he was beginning to develop cabin fever. However, he was having difficulties in seeing the point of continuing on. His mother, sister and surely everyone else he ever knew was most likely a corpse or a walker, and here he was with a front row seat to the carnage on a rooftop that had simply become his new dungeon.

Ray slowly trudged over to the edge of the rooftop and looked down. Being around four stories up, he figured there'd be a good chance of death should he choose to jump. He couldn't help but be terrified at the thought of surviving his fall, having to just watch as the zombies nearby crept up on him and tore apart his flesh. He couldn't decide if that was worse than starving to death. In any case, all of Ray's suicidal thoughts were for naught, as he knew he'd never be able to follow through with such a violent act, even in the midst of an apocalypse.

Still, Ray continued to stand by the ledge, desperately trying to talk himself into just ending it all. There was nothing else to do but think about death, and since he lacked the courage to kill himself, Ray began hoping for a swift gust of wind to sweep him off the edge.

Staring directly at a dead end made a nearby human voice calling out for him all the more shocking, nearly causing him to actually lose his balance and fall.

"Stop, don't jump! Please!"

Ray luckily managed to retain his balance and take a few steps back before looking around to try and locate the source of the voice. He wasn't even sure he had really heard anything, so he called out, "Hello? Who said that?"

"Over here!" the voice called again. Ray could clearly make out the voice as that of a female, and after a moment, he could see an oriental woman's worried face in a neighboring building's open window. She had enough of an accent to tell she was foreign-born, though she enunciated her English very well. It was also obvious she was very short and skinny, but more importantly, she was alive, and the first human being he'd seen since all this madness started.

Ray smiled; he couldn't have been more thrilled to see another living person.


	2. Chapter 2

Overjoyed, Ray waved at his new friend and walked closer to her to avoid having to shout. "Hey, what's your name?" the woman said to Ray as he approached.

"Ray Thomas. I work here. Thank God you showed up when you did. I was about to jump."

From behind the short woman, a taller and very muscular black man appears. His thick eyeglasses seem unfitting in between the mohawk on his head and scruffy goatee on his chin. He wears a green military jacket over a tight black tanktop, which gives Ray the impression that this man might be an American soldier.

"Are you government? Part of the rescue squad?" Ray asks, looking at the flag on the sleeve of the stranger's jacket.

The black man chuckles to himself before responding. "No, kid, not anymore. I'm retired. The name's Simon Jackson, and this is my wife, Min-yung. We haven't seen anyone else in days. How long have you been up here?"

Ray looks down, saddened by the confirmation of there being no incoming military rescue. "I just got up here. I've been stuck in this damn theater since everyone went crazy. There's no other way out."

Before Ray finishes his sentence, Simon turns and reaches for something out of view. He retrieves a ladder and extends it through the window, resting the opposite end on the cinema rooftop to create a ramp. The buildings are very close together and with Simon holding one end, the makeshift bridge appears to be sturdy.

"We snuck in through the back door here looking for food," Simon says. "We can get out the same way, not many freaks out back. Hop on over."

Simon and Min-yung Jackson were happy to have another person join them for a meal, even if available food was scarce. The married couple had found an assortment of junk food in the break room of the paper supply office they were in. It was a great discovery for the two of them, but not so much for Ray, who had already been eating nothing but chips and candy for weeks.

The trio snacked while Ray got to know his new friends a little more. He learned about Simon's time in the United States Army, and being stationed in Korea where he met Min-yung. Their story was a typical tale of love at first sight, with the two of them marrying very quickly before Simon's retirement from the military. She came with him upon his return to his home state of Georgia where they'd been enjoying a quiet life.

There wasn't much story to tell on Ray's end, as he lived and worked in the same area. He explained how he was very worried about his family. He hadn't seen his twin sister, Rachel, in about two months since her return to college in Atlanta, and he had no way of knowing if she was alright. He and his mother's home was about a twenty minute walk away, however, and Ray was very eager to check it out, so much that he could only stomach a single bite out of a Snickers bar.

With no other plans in place, Simon and Min-yung agreed to accompany Ray to his home to check on his mother. Though none of them had any high hopes of finding her alive and well, the importance of knowing for sure was mutually understood. Because of the low population of the small town, the group was able to move past the straggling walkers on the streets by cutting through back yards.

After a short while, they had reached their goal. While Ray had been mentally preparing himself for the sight of his mother as a zombie or a corpse, he didn't take into consideration the other possibilities. As a result, he couldn't help but just stand still, completely stunned, when he looked straight ahead at the empty space where his house used to be.

An overlooked side effect of the undead takeover would be all of the odd fires that break out and spread with no firefighters to extinguish them. One such blaze had occurred within a group of homes on the eastern end of Elm Street, Ray's being right in the middle. It had happened long enough ago for the flames to die out on their own, and all that was left was a pile of charred rubble and a barely-standing chimney.

Ray walked directly onto the debris while his new friends looked on quietly. The young man kicked away chunks of burnt wood, not sure what he was looking for. He thought he'd maybe see some bones to confirm his mother's death, but everything was so destroyed and unrecognizable. Even if he couldn't find her remains in the rubble, how could he ever know what happened to her? Ray wondered. Unfortunately, finding his home burnt to a crisp only left the grieving son with more questions than answers.

A glimmer of light reflecting from the corner of a picture frame in the house's remains caught Ray's attention. It had been mostly burnt, but there was enough exposed gold trim to capture the sunlight. The glass was totally black, so Ray broke it on the ground to see the picture; he had to admit, he was curious, as this photo might have been the only thing he had left.

Simon and Min-yung Jackson watched as Ray slowly walked back to them. He was holding the photograph he retrieved from the rubble, and even though tears were streaming down his cheeks, a smile could be seen on his face. Simon and Min-yung glanced at each other, then back at Ray.

"I'm real sorry, man," Simon offers. "It's probably better this way, though. I had to put down my folks with a shovel, and I still see that image every goddamn night when I close my eyes. You wouldn't want that."

"Who's in the picture?" Min-yung interrupts. She knew Simon was trying to console Ray, but the memory of him killing his undead parents still horrified her. She was present and nearly bitten herself during that ordeal and wanted to quickly change the subject.

Ray flipped the picture around to reveal a portrait of a pretty, young brunette woman. The charming girl had a big beaming smile, facing the camera while petting a calico kitten. Min-yung and Simon both noticed the facial similarities between the photographed woman and Ray.

"Your sister?" Simon asks.

Ray nods. "Rachel," he confirms, his voice a little choked up. "I should be grateful, right? I didn't think I'd ever see her face again."

While there hadn't been any walkers immediately nearby when they came upon the burnt-down house, the sounds of their voices carrying through the wind was starting to get the attention of those not too far away. Zombies began to appear one by one from behind houses, and a small pocket could be seen walking towards them on the street. The noisiness of their moans were increasing, which alerted the group.

"We gotta go, kid." Simon warned.

The trio began travelling in the opposite direction they came in before any walkers got close. Ray and Min-yung didn't carry any weapons, so Simon led the way with a bloody hatchet that he seemed to have gotten accustomed to using. They headed down the street, moving quietly and avoiding crowds of zombies. Biters that got too close for comfort were quickly dispatched by Simon's weapon of choice.

Unfortunately, the walkers appear to never stop coming, and the group was getting tired. As the sun went further and further down beyond the horizon, Simon suggested finding a shelter for the night. "We need to get out of sight before it's pitch black out here," he added.

The survivors were on a residential street with homes on either side. Ray asked, "Should we try one of these houses?"

"It's getting too dark. Too dangerous to try to clear one out without any light," Simon said. He scanned the area, noticing an open garage door. There were a couple of shelves with miscellaneous items and a sheet-covered motorcycle, but it was apparent there were no biters inside. He started to walk towards the garage, motioning for Ray and Min-yung to follow.

"This way."

As the group of three rushed towards the open door of the garage, Ray feels the cold grasp of undead fingers on his ankle. He trips and falls to the ground, rolling over to face his undead attacker, a walker whom had apparently been lurking behind a shrub next to the garage. The zombie is drenched in blood, both of its legs and one arm badly broken and mangled. With its good arm, it kept its firm grasp of Ray's leg, and was bring its snapping jaw in closer for a bite.

With Ray frozen solid with fear, he would have certainly been killed if not for Simon splitting the crawler's head almost completely in half with his handy hatchet. "In the bushes? For real?" Simon angrily exclaims after grabbing Ray by the shoulders and pulling him into the garage. He pulls down the big door behind them, encompassing them all with complete darkness.

The group instinctively remains silent for several seconds. It didn't seem like any zombies had seen them enter the garage, but as Ray had just discovered, you can't be too careful. Moans could be heard in the distance, but there didn't seem to be anything close by. "Stay quiet, y'all," Simon reinforced.

A flicker of light suddenly appears in the room. Ray can see that Simon has pulled out a Zippo-style lighter and ignited it, looking over their surroundings in the garage for anything useful. Min-yung retrieves a stack of dusty blankets on a shelf, whispering, "At least we have this. I would hate to sleep on this cold, hard floor."

"You know I'd have you sleep in my arms, shorty," Simon offers. He seems to just be happy he and his wife are safe for another night. "I love you so much, babe."

Min-yung smiles and tightly hugs Simon. "I love you," she replies, while Ray watches on with a tear rolling down his face. Because of his wide mix of emotions, he can't tell if it is a tear of joy or sadness.

Ray looks away, seeing what else he can find in the room, before noticing an electric lantern hanging on a nail sticking out of the wall. He holds off on celebrating until he can be sure that it works. As the dim light fills the garage after he flips the dial, he turns to Min-yung and Simon with a grin.

"Hell yes," Simon mutters, flipping his lighter closed and shoving it into his pocket. "Not sure how much fluid I got left."

Min-yung asks, "What's this?" as she pulls the sheet from the covered motorcycle. Simon and Ray had already surmised what was underneath, but it had an unexpected bonus; a side car had been rigged to the bike. The whole thing seemed polished and fairly new, so the odds were good that it'd run.

"We're getting lucky tonight," Simon celebrates.

"Except for the part where I almost died just now?" Ray replies, half-jokingly.

"Almost dying is life now. Every day is a close call. But we got wheels, now," Simon explained. "It's even got a side car and everything, so we can stick together. Min-yung can hop on my back and you can take the little seat."

With no family or friends around, Ray was glad that not only did Simon encourage him to stay with them, he seemed very adamant about it. Still, he was curious as to where to go. Naturally, thinking about the folded photo in his pocket, his thoughts went to his sister, but he figured her to be long dead if the cities were even worse than the rural areas like Simon had claimed. He fantasized about travelling towards Atlanta for some kind of grand rescue, but even if she were alive, Ray didn't even know where her dorm was, or if she'd still be there.

"I'm happy to tag along, Simon. But where are we supposed to go?" Ray asked.

Simon scratched his head. He and Min-yung were not from the area, and had only been wandering aimlessly, trying to stay alive. "I don't know, kid," Simon tells Ray. "There are no safe zones. Every place they told us to go was overrun before we even got close. We've got to find someplace safe from all these freaks and just lay low for a while. But I really don't know, man."

Ray knew that highly populated areas would be the most dangerous places to be, so he tried to think of someplace more obscure. With as much trouble he faced fighting off a single walker, he had really hoped to find a safe haven away from all the danger. Searching through his mental memory bank, he recalled his favorite place to visit every summer when he and Rachel were kids.

"I've got it," Ray confidently says. "Willy's White Sands."

Min-yung giggles. "Funny name," she says.

"Yeah, what the hell is that?! Willy's white what?" a confused Simon wonders aloud.

"Willy's White Sands," Ray answers. "It's a little beach out in the woods not too far from here. I used to go there all the time growing up. You can't even get there without driving down the dirt roads. It's very remote."

"Let's check it out," Simon agrees, a beaming smile on his face. "We'll head that way at dawn. That is, if there's gas in this thing," he adds, referring to the motorcycle.

Fortunately, the vehicle had plenty of gasoline, and the band of survivors began their journey after the emergence of daylight. Before leaving, Ray gathered all of the useful supplies from the shelving units, including a canteen, pocket knife, compass, and the electric lantern; whoever had lived in this house seemed to have been quite the outdoorsman. He even found the perfect carrying case for the supplies- a bright orange backpack.

As the motorcycle rode out of town, Min-yung held tightly onto Simon's waist on the seat while Ray cradled the supplies in the sidecar. The noise of the engine caught the attention of the walkers they passed, but they were no match for the speed of the bike. After pulling onto the back roads, the number of zombies quickly decreased, and Ray had already begun feeling a little safer.

After an hour of driving through rural Georgia, the group collectively lit up when they came upon a sign that said Willy's White Sands was down the road. When they pulled into the small parking area, the excitement grew. While this place certainly wasn't a paradise, it seemed to live up to Ray's promise of discretion. Thick trees surrounded the beach, and they hadn't seen a single walker for miles on the back country roads that led them there. Simon especially loved seeing the lifeguard's office and balcony, knowing that by destroying the weak wooden staircase on the side, wandering zombies couldn't surprise them in their sleep.

Indeed, Simon, Ray and Min-yung got along pretty well at Willy's White Sands, surviving with very little issue a full year into the apocalypse. Zombies only came across the beach very rarely, and Simon always took care of that problem with a hatchet blow to the head. The group even swam when it was hot and started little bonfires in the colder months; some days almost made them forget that the world had basically ended.

Simon had always been the one to search for supplies and bring them back to their camp. Ray had always abhorred violence and even the idea of killing zombies horrified him, so he was more than happy to remain behind with Min-yung while Simon ventured out. Simon actually preferred Ray staying behind with his wife, as he didn't want her to be completely alone nor did he want her coming on dangerous supply runs.

Min-yung was always nervous when Simon was gone, but he always came back as promised. As Simon cleared out all of the nearby houses and other buildings in the area, though, his runs began to take him further out, prolonging his time away. While he had always ended up returning in no more than one or two days, he was now gone for a whole week, and Min-yung was nearly going crazy with worry.

Ray sat with Min-yung in the lifeguard's office with his eyes closed and thinking of days gone by, the monotony was broken up by the familiar sound of the motorcycle. His eyes opened wide and he rushed to the window next to Min-yung to get a glimpse outside. The two of them were overjoyed to see Simon finally come back to their new home as the agony of their worry could now end.

Ray and Min-yung both rushed out onto the balcony and hopped down onto the sand. They ran towards Simon, Min-yung immediately throwing her arms around him as he got off the bike. They kissed as Ray caught up to them, all three sharing a collective joy.

"Where have you been? I was so worried!" Min-yung exclaims.

"Shit got crazy out there, shorty. I'll tell you all about it, but first, I got some incredible news for Ray," Simon says, looking at him with a grin.

"What?" Ray asks, having no clue at all what Simon could be talking about.

"It's your sister, kid. It's Rachel," he replies, happy to deliver the positive news to his friend. "She's alive."


	3. Chapter 3

Ray was stunned. He didn't know if he had just imagined what he heard. He wanted to know more, but the only word he could muster out was, "What?"

"Ran into a group up north, about twenty of 'em holed up in a fortified grocery store," Simon explained. "Rachel was there, man. I couldn't believe it."

"Are you sure it's her? How do you know?" Ray asked, unsure of what to believe. He had already grieved over the loss of his twin sibling, and now somebody was telling him she was alive.

"What, you think I didn't ask? I've seen her picture every day for the past year," he adds, referring to the photo Ray had kept on display in their little home. "I knew right away who it was. But, yeah, I asked, and it's her. She couldn't believe you were alive."

"Nor I her! So, where is she?" Ray wonders.

"Listen, man. I've got more news for you. You're an uncle," says the former military man. "Rachel's got a healthy baby boy, real cute kid. I wasn't going to make her take him in that sidecar. They've got a good setup there, lots of food, and they wanted us to all come there to stay."

Ray grows the biggest smile he's had on his face since the onset of the apocalypse. He is ecstatic about everything he's just heard, and can't get on the road soon enough. He giddily shouts, "Oh my god, that's fantastic! When are we going?"

"Ain't no time like the present. Get your shit," Simon says. "Whatever you can carry."

Ray hurries back to the lifeguard station on the beach, not wanting to waste a minute. He realizes he won't be able to carry much as he will be occupying the sidecar, but still finds it wise to not leave empty-handed. A perfect carrying case is found in the form of the camping backpack he had looted from the garage a year prior that had since been collecting dust in a corner.

Leaving behind a fair amount of supplies, Ray shoves what he can into the backpack. He takes a few cans of food, an electric lantern, batteries, soap and a few other odds and ends. He also fills the attached canteen from a pot of water that had been previously boiled, and heads for the exit. Before leaving, he stops himself and glares over at the picture of Rachel which has been taped to the wall; he grabs it and heads out.

Outside, Simon has filled in Min-yung with more details about his trip. While on the supply run, he badly sprained his ankle and wound up trapped for days in a used video game store, the place completely surrounded by walkers. He lucked out when some scouts from Rachel's group were passing by and saved him. He got to know them while his ankle healed and was quite surprised to meet Ray's sister, Rachel, and her baby boy.

Cradling the stuffed backpack, Ray walks up to Min-yung and Simon. "Ready to go?" he asks.

"Sure thing. Shorty, go sit on the back of the bike, I need to talk to Ray," Simon orders while Min-yung obliges. He wipes a heavy layer of sweat from his forehead using a rag, and takes a deep breath. He mutters to Ray, "I need you to promise me something."

"Yeah, if I can," Ray says.

"Just... if anything happens to me, take care of Minnie, okay? I worry about her."

"Don't talk like that. Everything will be fine."

"Just promise me. I'm counting on you, kid. I might not be around forever. You can get bit in the blink of an eye."

"OK. I promise," Ray consents, wanting to get on the road. He turns to walk towards the bike when Simon stops him, handing him a folded map.

"Take this, too. They're directions to Rachel's camp, just in case anything happens," Simon tells the young man.

"Fine, but I think you're being paranoid. Come on, this will be a good day," Ray optimistically proclaims, and goes to place himself in the sidecar.

Simon sees the smiles on Ray and Min-yung's faces. He is happy they don't see the tears creeping out of his eyes, as he's always prided himself on his toughness. He pulls up his left jacket sleeve and looks at the fresh bite wound on his lower arm, which he had acquired on the way back from Rachel's camp from a lurker hiding in some bushes. He had planned to tell Ray about the bite, but for whatever reason, he found himself completely unable to do so. For the first time since the outbreak, he found himself truly and completely scared.

After fixing his sleeve, Simon hopped on the motorcycle. The trio of survivors proceeded to hit the road, traveling away from the gimmick beach they had called home for the past year. Not a one of them even looked back.

The wind blowing in Ray's face could not quell the rush of excitement welling up within him. Butterflies fluttered in Ray's stomach as he envisioned seeing his sister's face and meeting his new nephew. Ray had always tried to act cheerful even when he wasn't feeling so, but at this moment, he truly had the strongest sense of happiness that he felt since before the apocalypse even began.

The trees zipped by as the mileage increased. Simon kept his gaze fixated ahead as his wife held onto him tightly. Min-yung couldn't help but notice Simon's body feeling hotter to the touch. Thinking it to be nothing more than maybe a cold, the young lady didn't even consider that her husband had been bitten. She laid her head against him with her left cheek against his back, offering comfort without words until they could get to the safehouse Simon had discovered.

Simon, on the other hand, was fighting the effects of his infection, trying his best not to let it show. When he felt Min-yung hold onto him tightly, he immediately sensed the weight of a heavy guilt. He had always wanted to be there for the woman he nicknamed, "Shorty," but his time with her was running out. The shame he felt by not telling Min-yung what happened combined with the humiliation of being too afraid to accept his own fate left him emotionally wrecked. The retired soldier silently prayed for his infection to slow down until they arrived at the safehouse, where maybe it would be easier to deliver the terrible news after making sure they were in a safe place.

In the sidecar, Ray was passing the time by mentally preparing for his reunion. He tried to think of the first thing to say to Rachel when he saw her again, contemplating a light-hearted joke to quickly qualm the stress of the situation. The more he considered it, though, Ray decided to simply not say anything and just give Rachel a tight hug, as there were no words that could convey how miraculous the situation was. He could almost picture the scenario in his head.

As minutes became hours, Ray knew the trio had to be getting closer to their destination. He had noticed more and more roaming zombies on the side of the road, but oddly enough they didn't seem to frighten him as much as they should. The young man began to think about how that was strange, but probably a result of his excitement and the sense that everything was going to be alright. He had learned from their time at Willy's White Sands that survival is possible in this apocalypse, as long as you've got a safe enough place to stay.

Sudden odd movements and twitching from Simon's body got the attention of Min-yung. While Ray remained lost in his own thoughts, the Korean-born woman lifted her head to speak to Simon to see if he felt okay and needed to stop. Before she could even mutter a word, she nearly lost her breath when she peered forward.

The motorcycle the three survivors were riding on was no longer going straight forward, but veering to the left. What started as a slow turn quickly became a sharp one as Simon's body became more limp. Ray and Min-yung both instinctively screamed as their vehicle went off the road and crashed into a tree, ejecting all three passengers and destroying the motorcycle.

The Georgia sun was still beaming down from the sky, the brightness of which became a source of pain when Ray slowly opened his eyes. The motorcycle had declined in speed before the accident, softening the impact which miraculously left him without any serious injuries. Although his entire body felt immensely sore, especially an incredibly sharp pain in his left shoulder, Ray sat up to ensure he was alright. As his senses came back to him, he could hear the sounds of Min-yung's heartbroken cries.

Ray slowly walked over to the wreckage, which was about twenty feet away. As he approached, he saw Min-yung crouched over the corpse of her husband. Simon laid on his back with his eyes and mouth wide open, stone cold dead. A head injury had left blood streaming down from Min-yung's hair down her face, mixing with her own tears and dripping on Simon's body as she kneeled over him.

"Minnie," Ray began, leaving his sentence unfinished as he had no idea what else to say. The sudden nature of the crash and Simon's death was unbelievable and hard for him to take in, and he still wasn't sure what had happened. Fearing the noise of the crash would attract walkers, Ray wanted to get away and assess the situation, and tried again to get his grieving friend's attention.

"I don't know what just happened, but we can't stay here. It isn't safe."

Min-yung either could not hear Ray through her anguish or was just unable to pull herself away from the man she always saw as her protector. She held his hand and rubbed his arm, which was lifeless yet still warm. Simon's bite had been exposed as his sleeve slid up, a detail that Min-yung failed to notice while Ray certainly did.

Flashing back to before the group departed, Ray remembered promising to watch after Min-yung if anything happened to Simon, as well as receiving a map to Rachel's camp. Suddenly, everything that had transpired became clear, and Ray felt so stupid for not suspecting anything before. He also felt a sense of rage for not being told about the bite, as now he and Min-yung were completely stranded.

On the ground nearby sat the orange backpack filled with supplies. The bag had remained intact which seemed to be the only shred of good news at the moment. With the threat of walkers appearing at any time through the trees around them, Ray picked up the backpack and wore it on his back. The weight of the bag was hard on his sore shoulder, but the supplies were too important to leave behind. He tried again to get Min-yung's attention by putting his hand on her shoulder.

"No! Get away!" Min-yung cries. She throws away Ray's arm.

Through the trees, the all too familiar sounds of agitated zombie moans filter through the wind. Ray can tell that the undead are getting closer, but it's too hard to make out which direction they are coming from. All he knows is that they have to go immediately, but he really doesn't want to leave behind the last friend he has left.

So terrified that his teeth are chattering, Ray reaches into the backpack and pulls out his only weapon; a pocketknife. He holds the blade out in front of him, spinning around to look in all directions. He can't see any monsters, but the disturbing noises they are making are getting very close. He tries another desperate attempt to get Min-yung on her feet, grabbing her by the shirt and pulling her up. She grabs onto Simon's jacket and refuses to let go.

"Fuck you!" a distraught Min-yung snaps. "I won't leave him!"

"He's dead, Minnie! Just come on!"

Min-yung clutches Simon's jacket hard while Ray pulls on her shirt, creating a very awkward tug of war between her dead husband and her only living friend. With the blood on her face creating a crimson mask, Min-yung can hardly even see through all of the red. She only continues to cry uncontrollably as she and Ray pull her own body back and forth over Simon's dead body.

Unfortunately, time has now run out. Rotting walkers start to shuffle into view from behind trees, narrowing in from all directions. Ray looks around at the creatures with a terrible feeling of despair, realizing he may now be forced to leave Min-yung behind. Before he can let go of her shirt, though, Ray immediately senses trouble when he notices Min-yungs cries quickly morph into a high-pitched, bloodcurdling scream.

A reanimated Simon has sat up and has locked his teeth solidly into Min-yung's arm. Instantly, Ray releases her shirt causing Simon to pull her down to the ground. The dead military man mounts the frightened young woman and starts viciously biting her face and neck, removing large bloody chunks of flesh with each chomp. After refusing to leave her dead husband's side only a few moments prior, Min- yung was now helplessly reaching towards Ray with both of her arms, her cries for help silenced by her choking on her own blood. The image was so horrifying that it burned itself into Ray's mind and deeply troubled him, even after everything else he had seen.

The sensation of being grabbed on the shoulder shocked Ray back into the reality of the horrible situation he was in. There was no time to mourn as he was now completely surrounded by the undead. He jumps forward to escape the grasp of a decaying walker and spins around to look for an opening. There are at least a dozen zombies closing in on him, but he refuses to give up, even in such a dire position; if his sister was not waiting for him, maybe he'd have done otherwise.

Pocketknife in hand, Ray starts to sprint. He rushes toward what looks like the biggest gap between walkers but is surprised when an overweight, freshly-turned zombie appears from behind a large tree directly in front of him. The terrified young man instinctively stabs at the creature, missing its head and planting the blade deep into its neck. He briefly attempts to pull the blade back out, but it seems to be firmly in place. However, it seemed to create enough of a momentary distraction for Ray to brush past the zombie and continue jogging away, very luckily escaping the ambush without a bite.

Ray runs through the trees until he cannot run any longer. He finally turns around and bends down, resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath. He cannot see or hear any zombies nearby and seems to have lost them, at least for the time being. He is very uncomfortable in the forest, though, so he continues on until he finds the road that they had veered off from before.

An overwhelming sense of despair falls over Ray, and he falls to his knees on the ground. He can't believe how quickly everything went from great to horrible. Many tears were shed from his eyes as he stewed in sadness and horror, but the determination to continue still remained. After all, he did still have family out there, so he definitely had something to live for.

Ray withdrew the map from his pocket. He could see that the safehouse where Rachel resided was marked at a town called Kilbourne, which was only a matter of a few miles above another city which had been crossed out by Simon. The town that had been scratched out was called King's County, and there was a note next to it left by Simon which read, "DO NOT ENTER, GO AROUND."

He wasn't exactly close, but at least Ray knew what road he was on and which direction to go. He stuck to the road and progressed further as the hours turned into days. Ray only stopped to eat and would climb a tree to rest after dark, which made for some frightening, uncomfortable, sleepless nights. Walker sightings were few and far between, but whenever they were on the road ahead, he was able to avoid them by going around through the nearby trees. He was slowly putting some miles behind him, but the unfortunate moment finally came when he completely ran out of food and water.

After another day passed without sustenance, Ray stopped to try and squeeze any leftover droplets of moisture from the canteen. No more than two drops had come out, prompting Ray to once again start entertaining the thought of ending his own life before dying of thirst or being devoured. He searched for the pocketknife he used to have before realizing he had left it sticking out of a walker on the day of the crash.

Crying once again, Ray pulled out the folded photograph of his twin sister, Rachel. He opened it and smiled when he saw her face. He couldn't help but feel that it was so unfair for him to have been so close to reuniting with her only for everything to fall apart so horribly. He was closer than ever to Kilbourne where his remaining family was waiting, but it still wasn't exactly within walking distance and he knew it'd at least be two days. However, he was already very hungry, thirsty and exhausted, as well as unarmed. He felt like he wasn't going to make it until even the end of the present day before he would be too weak to continue.

Folding up the photo and placing it back into his pocket, his continues to pace forward, even though by now he has lost all hope of coming out of this alive or seeing Rachel again. He wishes to himself that he still had a knife to cut his own throat with, feeling an extra layer of sadness about the fact that he can't even end his own life to just escape this hell for good. Ray is confident now his death will be a horrible one, but he continues to walk along the road with no other options available.

Just then, a noise can be heard in the distance behind him. It seems very quiet and at first and Ray can't tell if it's an auditory hallucination. After a glance behind him, he sees nothing and continues to walk forward. A few seconds go by, however, and Ray realizes that the sound is getting louder and much more distinguishable; the noise is very clearly that of a motor vehicle.

Ray had not seen any cars or living people since splitting away from Simon and Min-yung days before, so he couldn't believe his luck. Just when he was facing the very end, he had discovered other survivors out in the middle of nowhere. He had no idea what kind of people would be in the oncoming car, but he was sure they would want to help him. The hopeful young man figured that whoever was in the car would be just as ecstatic to see another person.

Over a hill on the road, a greenish-colored car appeared, not too far away. Ray paused and smiled to himself, beyond happy to see that the car was real and now very near. Ray knew that this was his last chance, so he was determined to ensure that they didn't pass him by, thinking him to be a walker. He quickly formulated a plan to wave his arms and beg for them to stop while hoping for he best.

"Here goes nothing," Ray silenty utters to himself before taking his final shot at survival.


End file.
